The upcoming years of WRHS look bright as a new program designed to aid students in their independent work may be implemented.

The new program, titled the One-to-One Initiative, allows students to become more engaged in their work, via a  school-supplied personal device. To acquire the device, most likely a Chromebook, students will be required to sign a contract.

The One-to-One Initiative will have an impact on seniors all the way down to elementary students. This program, if implemented, will cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“The [laptops] are very, very expensive,” head principal Ed Raines said. “In an era of limited resources, I think it’s incumbent upon anybody who’s a part of the process of implementing a One-to-One Initiative to take responsibility and look at what that research says compared with the cost.”

Though the school administration is not entirely certain of whether or not the One-to-One initiative will be executed, some students are hopeful.

“Schools spend so much money for supplies and revamping the schools, but, I think a program like this could really help some students,” junior Austin Spice said.

Other schools who have tried a One-to-One program have had varying amounts of success.

Many parents and supporters of the school may say that this money could be used for other things, such as new boards, supplies for classes and other items.

Even though the money could be used for other things, some students still see the merit in the proposed One-to-One Initiative.

“A program like this could really help,” sophomore Grace Thomas said.

One of the ways it could possibly help is with increasing the success of students. Nationwide, schools struggle with achieving 100 percent graduation rates and according to Beta News, over 25 percent of students fail to graduate high school in four years.

“A program like this could really help kids who don’t have the money for their own devices,” sophomore Dysnee Good said. “Things like this could really make a difference in one’s life.”

Although the program has not been approved, some students seem to think this could be a good program for the district.

“We have not started anything; we are in the very early stages,” Raines said.

Some of the benefits of a One-to-One Initiative are that all students will get a laptop for their own personal use.

However, if the One-to-One Initiative is implemented, the laptop will have very limited applications on it.

“[The laptops] would not have Microsoft Office or any of the Adobe  [products],” Raines said. “[Applications] will be very bare [if we do a One-to-One Initiative].”

One of the downsides to the program is how much a One-to-One Initiative would cost.

The Baldwin County School District in Alabama spends $9 million per year on the One-to-One Initiative.  Every school in their district has a One-to-One Initiative and thus, each student in the district has their own personal laptop.

Implementing the program at Washburn Rural would cost around $618,520 with Chromebooks costing $329 a piece multiplied by 1,880 students at WRHS this year. For the entire district in the 2014-2015 school year, the One-to-One Initiative would have costed around $2 million.

There was one school district in Las Angeles, California that spent $1 billion on a One-to-One iPad program

In comparison to the California school district, if Auburn-Washburn decides to implement the One-to-One Initiative, each student would receive most likely a Chromebook instead of the more expensive iPad.

Although the One-to-One Initiative is not in place yet, it might be something to  look out for in the upcoming years in the Auburn-Washburn district.